Bring your students on an icy exploration of the polar ecosystem! The Arctic and Antarctica may look frozen and empty at first glance, but they’re full of life perfectly adapted to the cold.
✨ Perfect for grades 3–8, here’s what you need to bring ecosystems to life:
- Iconic BBC Videos: Share the clips on this page to introduce the location, plants, animals, and climate of the polar regions. (Don't miss the narwhals and emperor penguins!) Brought to you by world-class BBC programs like Planet Earth, Frozen Planet, and Seven Worlds, One Planet.
- Free Printable: Use the Polar Brochure Template to help students pull it all together in an ecosystem report with facts they’ve learned (and a little extra research).
It’s everything you need to make ecosystems easy to teach and truly memorable for your students.
Get your students excited about wildlife with this collection of engaging articles! Covering elephants, polar bears, whales, and even the rarest creatures on Earth, these resources are perfect for sparking curiosity. Each article is available at three reading levels, making it easy for you to share with readers of all abilities in your classroom.
In Splash! Polar Bear Cubs Take to the Water, host Andy Day follows two polar bear cubs have been walking on ice all winter. Now the ice is melting and it’s time for their first swim! This video is excerpted from BBC’s Andy’s Baby Animals, in which Andy Day explores the lives and experiences of baby animals.
In Climate Change and Polar Bears, learn how human impacts are causing Canada to warm faster than any country on Earth. Lack of sea ice is now causing major problems for polar bears, and they have had to find a new source of food — beluga whale calves. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Seven Worlds, One Planet, a series featuring remarkable animal behavior from all seven continents.
In How Walruses and Polar Bears Survive in the Arctic, narrator Sir David Attenborough shows walruses gathered on low-lying islands, where they nurse their young after giving birth on sea ice. Meanwhile, a male polar bear, weakened after seven days at sea and having lost half his weight over the summer, swims ashore in search of food. However, the massive walruses, the largest seals in the world with tusks over 3 feet (1 meter) long, prove to be a tough challenge. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Planet Earth, a breathtaking documentary series that highlights the natural wonders of our planet.
In Polar Bears Forced to Adapt to the Vanishing Ice, narrator Sir David Attenborough follows a male polar bear whose icy world has disappeared, forcing him to swim in search of food. Female polar bears remain on land with their young, while the male bear searches for a seal on floating ice. The bear dives and maneuvers through chunks of ice, demonstrating remarkable swimming skills. This bear is far from shore, battling ocean currents, and must find land soon to avoid drowning. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Planet Earth, a breathtaking documentary series that highlights the natural wonders of our planet.
In Polar Bear Cubs Face a Challenging First Year, narrator Sir David Attenborough introduces a mother polar bear and her two young cubs as they emerge from their den after five months beneath the snow. The cubs must quickly adapt to their harsh environment, learning to navigate steep slopes and frozen terrain. Their mother, who has not eaten in months, must now guide them across the sea ice to find food before her milk runs dry. As the ice begins to melt, survival becomes even more difficult. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Planet Earth, a breathtaking documentary series that highlights the natural wonders of our planet.
In Polar Bears Emerge During Spring in the Arctic, narrator Sir David Attenborough describes how daylight returns to the Arctic after four months of total darkness. Two polar bear cubs emerge from their den, seeing and hearing the world outside for the first time. Watch as the mother toboggans down a snowy slope and then feeds her hungry cubs. This video is excerpted from BBC's Planet Earth, a breathtaking documentary series that highlights the natural wonders of our planet.
In What Happens When Polar Bears Wake Up Hungry?, narrator Sir David Attenborough explains that a mother polar bear must hunt seals before the spring ice melts. However, a blizzard threatens her two young cubs, and the sea ice is a dangerous place for them. This video is excerpted from BBC's Planet Earth, a breathtaking documentary series that highlights the natural wonders of our planet.
In A Polar Bear Family’s Struggle, narrator Sir David Attenborough describes how a mother polar bear protects and cares for her cubs on a journey through the icy sea and onto dry land. Food is scarce, but with her supersensitive nose, she picks up the scent of a bowhead whale carcass, a rare find with enough meat to feed many bears. While the cubs eat their meal, danger looms as male polar bears and other hungry bears gather at the site. This video is excerpted from BBC's Life, a show that explores the remarkable strategies animals and plants use to ensure their survival.
In Polar Bears in Winter, narrator Sir David Attenborough highlights a polar bear waiting through the Arctic winter with little food and in harsh conditions. Nearby, polar bear cubs are born tiny and blind. The polar bear cubs spend the winter cuddled with their mother where they drink milk so rich they can double their weight every few weeks. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Frozen Planet, a series that shows a fragile world of beauty and hostility, where nature finds a way to survive and thrive in frigid conditions.
In Polar Bears in Autumn, narrator Sir David Attenborough describes how autumn is beginning and polar bears are gathering along the edge of the water to wait for the ocean to freeze. Bears bide their time by play fighting and finding anything they can to gnaw on. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Frozen Planet, a series that shows a fragile world of beauty and hostility, where nature finds a way to survive and thrive in frigid conditions.
Bring your students on an icy exploration of the polar ecosystem! The Arctic and Antarctica may look frozen and empty at first glance, but they’re full of life perfectly adapted to the cold.
✨ Perfect for grades 3–8, here’s what you need to bring ecosystems to life:
- Iconic BBC Videos: Share the clips on this page to introduce the location, plants, animals, and climate of the polar regions. (Don't miss the narwhals and emperor penguins!) Brought to you by world-class BBC programs like Planet Earth, Frozen Planet, and Seven Worlds, One Planet.
- Free Printable: Use the Polar Brochure Template to help students pull it all together in an ecosystem report with facts they’ve learned (and a little extra research).
It’s everything you need to make ecosystems easy to teach and truly memorable for your students.
Get your students excited about wildlife with this collection of engaging articles! Covering elephants, polar bears, whales, and even the rarest creatures on Earth, these resources are perfect for sparking curiosity. Each article is available at three reading levels, making it easy for you to share with readers of all abilities in your classroom.
In Splash! Polar Bear Cubs Take to the Water, host Andy Day follows two polar bear cubs have been walking on ice all winter. Now the ice is melting and it’s time for their first swim! This video is excerpted from BBC’s Andy’s Baby Animals, in which Andy Day explores the lives and experiences of baby animals.
In Climate Change and Polar Bears, learn how human impacts are causing Canada to warm faster than any country on Earth. Lack of sea ice is now causing major problems for polar bears, and they have had to find a new source of food — beluga whale calves. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Seven Worlds, One Planet, a series featuring remarkable animal behavior from all seven continents.
In How Walruses and Polar Bears Survive in the Arctic, narrator Sir David Attenborough shows walruses gathered on low-lying islands, where they nurse their young after giving birth on sea ice. Meanwhile, a male polar bear, weakened after seven days at sea and having lost half his weight over the summer, swims ashore in search of food. However, the massive walruses, the largest seals in the world with tusks over 3 feet (1 meter) long, prove to be a tough challenge. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Planet Earth, a breathtaking documentary series that highlights the natural wonders of our planet.
In Polar Bears Forced to Adapt to the Vanishing Ice, narrator Sir David Attenborough follows a male polar bear whose icy world has disappeared, forcing him to swim in search of food. Female polar bears remain on land with their young, while the male bear searches for a seal on floating ice. The bear dives and maneuvers through chunks of ice, demonstrating remarkable swimming skills. This bear is far from shore, battling ocean currents, and must find land soon to avoid drowning. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Planet Earth, a breathtaking documentary series that highlights the natural wonders of our planet.
In Polar Bear Cubs Face a Challenging First Year, narrator Sir David Attenborough introduces a mother polar bear and her two young cubs as they emerge from their den after five months beneath the snow. The cubs must quickly adapt to their harsh environment, learning to navigate steep slopes and frozen terrain. Their mother, who has not eaten in months, must now guide them across the sea ice to find food before her milk runs dry. As the ice begins to melt, survival becomes even more difficult. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Planet Earth, a breathtaking documentary series that highlights the natural wonders of our planet.
In Polar Bears Emerge During Spring in the Arctic, narrator Sir David Attenborough describes how daylight returns to the Arctic after four months of total darkness. Two polar bear cubs emerge from their den, seeing and hearing the world outside for the first time. Watch as the mother toboggans down a snowy slope and then feeds her hungry cubs. This video is excerpted from BBC's Planet Earth, a breathtaking documentary series that highlights the natural wonders of our planet.
In What Happens When Polar Bears Wake Up Hungry?, narrator Sir David Attenborough explains that a mother polar bear must hunt seals before the spring ice melts. However, a blizzard threatens her two young cubs, and the sea ice is a dangerous place for them. This video is excerpted from BBC's Planet Earth, a breathtaking documentary series that highlights the natural wonders of our planet.
In A Polar Bear Family’s Struggle, narrator Sir David Attenborough describes how a mother polar bear protects and cares for her cubs on a journey through the icy sea and onto dry land. Food is scarce, but with her supersensitive nose, she picks up the scent of a bowhead whale carcass, a rare find with enough meat to feed many bears. While the cubs eat their meal, danger looms as male polar bears and other hungry bears gather at the site. This video is excerpted from BBC's Life, a show that explores the remarkable strategies animals and plants use to ensure their survival.
In Polar Bears in Winter, narrator Sir David Attenborough highlights a polar bear waiting through the Arctic winter with little food and in harsh conditions. Nearby, polar bear cubs are born tiny and blind. The polar bear cubs spend the winter cuddled with their mother where they drink milk so rich they can double their weight every few weeks. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Frozen Planet, a series that shows a fragile world of beauty and hostility, where nature finds a way to survive and thrive in frigid conditions.
In Polar Bears in Autumn, narrator Sir David Attenborough describes how autumn is beginning and polar bears are gathering along the edge of the water to wait for the ocean to freeze. Bears bide their time by play fighting and finding anything they can to gnaw on. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Frozen Planet, a series that shows a fragile world of beauty and hostility, where nature finds a way to survive and thrive in frigid conditions.